Politics

Peace Council, political parties confer

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The National Peace Council (NPC) has met with representatives of political parties to determine possible threats to the upcoming elections and also develop strategies to help address these threats. The meeting comes on the heels of controversies that have surrounded the on-going biometric registration exercise which has often resulted in violence. Notable among them was the issue of ordinary resident registration which has become a source of conflict at many registration centres as some people are physically prevented from registering because they do not reside in the vicinity of the registration centre. The parties also complained about inadequate information on when and where a particular area is due to register as well as limited registration centres as compared to the huge numbers of polling stations. The absence of security personnel at some centres, quality of the voter’s ID card as well as the lack of materials such as challenge forms at some centres were also mentioned. Nana Dr. S. K. B. Asante, a member of the NPC cited the ‘winner takes all’ mentality as the reason for the heightened tension. He opined, the country must modify and employ what he called, ‘proportional representation’ to enable more parties owe a stake in the running of the country. The Chairman of the NPC, Most Rev. Prof Emmanuel Asante, explained the crafting of political manifestos indicated the willingness of party leaders to govern a united country while achieving articulated programmes in a peaceful national environment. He said however that no development was attainable in a conflict situation and urged political parties to use the campaign period to market their ‘political goods’ in the form realistic manifestoes to the people whose mandate they seek. Political parties represented at the meeting included the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), People’s National Congress (PNC), Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The UNDP and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council were also represented.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.